A Fox's Tale
by Sgt. Sporky
Summary: Five years after Kagome's return from the future, a new adventure awaits! Follow Rin, Shippo and friends on a journey across Feudal Japan to gather the scattered shards of a sacred blade to save men and demons alike from a rising evil that would enslave them all! The road to victory is fraught with dangers. Will they overcome them? Or will they fall? (Rating subject to change).
1. A Dangerous Business

_**A/N: I know, I know. I have a nasty habit of talking before I tell stories, but I like to communicate with my audience. I write for you almost as much as myself, so I think it's important to talk about it a little. Stories serve many functions and touch us in many ways. They make us laugh, cry, feel wonder and learn about ourselves and the world around us. I've spent most of my life seeking out stories in many forms because they take me out of the mundane and into the fantastic, allow me experiences I'd otherwise never have, and bring me together with other people. When I bring a story to you, I aim to weave in a sense of wonder, make you feel for my characters (original or not) and make you interested in their development, interactions, and now, unfolding plot! I've done a lot of one-shots and collections, but now I attempt a longer, more complex story. Dashing heroes, charming villains, bizarre happenings and more await us!**_

 **MUQFF**

It was a sunny day in the village that would one day be Tokyo, an ever-expanding collection of farmers living in huts and shacks to eke out a life for themselves and their families. Kagome felt like an old woman, though she was only twenty-three. It was hard to believe she'd only spent five years in the Feudal Era. It felt almost as if she'd been there her whole life. Sometimes, she had her regrets. She missed modern conveniences and safety, naturally. However, it was worth it to be with her closest friends, and the Feudal Era certainly had its upsides sometimes. No worrying about calls, interviews or performance reviews, no laying half-asleep on the couch watching some inane, mindless sitcom or game show. Here, she had only her duties as a priestess to worry about, and the fresh air, open fields, expansive forests and occasional fight for her life made her feel alive. She would never understand the appeal that some people found in actively seeking fights, but she could certainly admit that the occasional battle was exhilarating. The air was clearer in this time, she found, cleaner and more breathable (likely a lack of modern industrial pollutants, her education reminded her), and people seemed simpler, more honest and more open. Still, times were changing, as she was reminded by the young fox demon charging up the path towards her. Shippo would all too likely outlive her but he was also rapidly outgrowing her. Though demons didn't grow old as humans would, Shippo certainly seemed to be growing up at a human rate in spite of his heritage. Now looking very nearly fifteen or sixteen years of age, he was head and shoulders above the woman he'd come to think of as his elder sister and second mother.

"Kagome!" Shippo called out.

"Shippo," she replied "it's good to see you again! How was the exam this time?"

"Great," he replied. "I managed to hit sixteenth rank. I'm almost halfway to being first rank."

"Not even close," Kagome said. "If I remember right, each rank gets harder, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," he sighed, "I guess I've got way less than half the points I need..."

"But that's still a lot of progress from twenty! You did a good job, Shippo," Kagome went on, "and you put in lots of work!"

"Thanks, Kagome. I'm glad _someone_ recognizes it."

"You know," said the priestess, "Inu-Yasha is proud of you, too. He just... Shows it differently. That reminds me, he wanted to talk to you. He wouldn't say why, but it sounded important. He's over by the well."

"Thanks, Kagome," the fox demon replied, giving his friend a brief hug before rushing off to the Bone-Eater's Well to speak to the half-demon he'd come to consider a brother.

When he got there, Inu-Yasha sat against the well's frame, cross-legged, with Tetsusaiga in its sheath, propped upright inside the space between his body and his legs. He looked to be contemplating something. Shippo stifled the urge to make a joke about it. "You wanted to talk to me?"

The half-demon shook himself out of his thoughts and turned to look at the fox, still shocked with just how much the boy had grown. "Yeah," he said. "I just... Look, I'm not gonna be around forever."

"Come on, you're still young. You've got lots of life left to live!"

"Yeah, and so do you. I had a bit of a close call the other day and it got me thinking I can't always be there to fight for you. You're pretty much a man now, a grown demon. It's a big world, and you already know not everyone is gonna leave people alone. Been there, done that. It's why the old man left me Tetsusaiga. I'm starting to think you need a sword."

"Are you sure about that?" Shippo asked. "I mean, I've got claws and fangs and fox magic-"

"I've got way bigger claws and fangs than you. So does Sesshomaru. I don't think either of us could have gotten by without swords, in the long run. I was lucky to survive as long as I did before I got hold of Tetsusaiga. And even then, I had plenty of close calls that I wouldn't have with my sword."

Shippo stood in shocked silence. Inu-Yasha had definitely grown more thoughtful and less impulsive over the course of their journey eight years ago, but it still struck him how much his big brother figure had matured sometimes.

"Besides," the half-demon went on, "it isn't just you that needs to be protected. It's the village and your friends. A sword makes a good tool for it. So yeah, I'm real sure. So sure I already talked old Totosai into it. He just happened to be in town at the time, but by now he's back at his forge on that flying cow. By the time you can walk out there, he'll probably be done with it, or pretty close."

"By talked him into it, do you really mean you smacked him until he agreed to make me a sword?"

"Nah," the half-demon scoffed, "I already know that doesn't work with him. The old fart doesn't give a damn and he's about the only thing as stubborn as me. I guess he decided he likes you. You should head out soon. Maybe take Rin with you. The old woman's been nagging me saying the kid wants to get out of the village. I think she wants to skip out on priestess duties and training for a day or three, but it's not like we're short on protection and healers right now, so I don't care if she stays or goes. Just keep an eye on her- I don't need Sesshomaru throwing a fit if she scrapes her knee or something." Inu-Yasha resumed looking to the sky. His elder brother (half-brother, they'd both insist) was a little overdue for a visit, come to think of it. He'd grown a little more open in caring for Rin in the last few years, and everyone (especially Rin) was glad for it, though Jaken showed it in a funny way.

"That might not be a bad idea," Shippo thought out loud. "I bet it'll be a lot less boring. Rin can make just about anything fun."

"Yeah, whatever. Get going already, damn!"

 **MUQFF**

When Shippo returned to the village, Rin was gone. Out gathering medicinal herbs with Kaede, Sango told him. He waited beside the hut she shared with the elder priestess until it was very nearly sunset, at which point Rin came back, supporting the old woman on her shoulder and carrying a basket of herbs in her off hand. It was amazing how much she, too, had grown. She wasn't quite as tall as Shippo, but now towered over Jaken even more than before when her lord came to visit. Shippo chuckled a little, remembering how Jaken always sputtered in astonishment and embarrassment at how much larger this human child was in comparison to him, before realizing Kaede was injured and rushing over to help. "Kaede, what happened?"

"Fear ye not, child. I merely slipped and twisted my ankle," the old woman responded. "I remember a time not so long ago when I might have limped home on my own, but I fear my age has begun to affect me more seriously. 'Tis a miracle to live even this long, I suppose."

"First Inu-Yasha and now you! Everyone is starting to get worried about dying all of a sudden."

"I say my fears are more valid than most, child."

"You'll be fine, Kaede," Rin said. "We have two other healers and it's only a little swollen. It's not broken- maybe sprained. It'll keep you off your feet for a bit but you'll recover soon."

"Nonsense," Kaede protested. "I have my duties. I need only a crutch to return to work."

"If you say so," the younger priestess replied. "But Shippo, why are you here? Is your exam over already?"

"Yeah, a day ago," Shippo said as he and Rin helped Kaede into her hut. "I was waiting here to ask you to come somewhere with me. Totosai is waiting for me at the forge."

"I don't know if I can go. With Kaede out..."

"Go, child," her elder insisted. "Ye should visit the old smith in any case- he forged the Tenseiga that saved your life. Thanks are owed."

Rin simply nodded in response and thanks. She had Kaede's blessing, and Kagome, while her medicine from the future had long since been depleted, still retained enough knowledge both old and new to care for the old woman. She still found it incredible that this woman came from another time, no matter how often it was proven or how long she knew her. Sometimes it made her worry that demons would be gone in that future, but most of the time it wasn't on her mind. What mattered- as Kaede, Inu-Yasha, Kagome, Sesshomaru and even Jaken would remind her- was right now. Human life was brief, and worrying would waste it. Right now, there was an adventure ahead of her with Shippo. After all the time she'd spent wandering with Sesshomaru, she'd grown a love for the road. Kagome had once told her that stepping out her door was a dangerous business, but she didn't think so. Adventure was in her blood, and it would be good to quench her thirst for it, even if just for a while.

"Ye had best get ready," Kaede said to her, derailing her train of thought. "It won't do to keep Totosai waiting about, methinks. In case ye be gone before I wake, I wish ye luck on the road. Remember your bow and your arrows- the world is most dangerous indeed."

"Thank you, Kaede," Rin responded. "Now please get some sleep. Your ankle won't heal without rest, you know that."

"Aye," the elder priestess responded, laying herself out on her sleeping mat. "I taught ye that. But I cannot sleep if ye will not be quiet."

"I'm sorry..."

"It be fine. Ye, too, should rest. The road takes energy."

Rin nodded again, and began to prepare herself for bed. She knew as well as anyone the energy required to travel. Shippo left to the hut he now shared with Kagome and Inu-Yasha. From the way they described her house in her own time, it was a veritable palace, and Shippo often wondered how she could make the adjustment to a single-room home. He supposed it didn't matter. As Kagome had told him, her friends mattered more to her than modern comfort and convenience. Friends were important, more than anything.

 **MUQFF**

The next day, Shippo and Rin both rose with the sun, carefully gathering their things in silence so as not to wake their housemates. They went over their supplies carefully before leaving. A week's food in dried rice and preserves, full waterskins, spare clothes (a necessity Kagome insisted they pack in case of rain or damage), cooking and eating tools, sleeping kit, Rin's bow and arrows, and Shippo's magic tools, with other small necessities or comfort items in between. Once they were sure they had all they needed for the journey to Totosai's forge, they set off, his fox feet padding along beside her human ones down the beaten dirt paths that passed for roads in the Feudal Era. Kagome had once told them it was a dangerous business, stepping out the door, as one never knew just where the road might take them. But Shippo and Rin were quite certain of where they were going, and even if they weren't, both had grown enough taste for adventure and discovery that it didn't really matter. And so they went down the road, on another adventure.

 **MUQFF**

 _ **A/N: This is the part where I beg for concrit and tell you that you get +1 Internets for every reference you pick up on. I sincerely hope everyone loves to read my work as much as I love to create it. Also, while I will try to update regularly, please be aware that I have a life outside of this. I work for a living and have other hobbies. To ensure the best possible quality for my readers, I proofread, research, and take my time to write. Even with these steps, I still sometimes find typos, grammatical errors, and other nasty surprises in my work, and I assure you that my writing would be a mess without my going back over it. Until next time, I bid you adieu.**_


	2. Hearts and Minds

One day down the road, Shippo and Rin came across a small caravan of four carts headed in the opposite direction. Rather, the caravan _had_ been headed that way. One of their axles had broken, leaving the whole caravan stuck in the mud. The men already had a spare axle, but struggled to lift the heavy wagon with the soft ground continually slipping out from under them. It wasn't until they were quite close that the men noticed them and began to complain.

"Oh, great," one groaned, "first this mess with the cart and now a demon shows up. This just isn't my day."

Rin shot him a glare nobody would have ever thought the girl capable of, especially not in a priestess' robes. "He's my friend! Don't you talk bad about him!"

"Rin, calm down, please. I bet these guys have never met a demon that didn't try and eat them or just kill them for fun. Not all demons are like me and the others. Of course, not all humans are like Kagome, either. They're right to be afraid, at this point," Shippo said, sounding depressed.

"Look, I'm sorry, Lady Priestess, but- _hey, where'd he go?!_ "

A quick look around answered the question. Shippo had wormed his way under the damaged vehicle. "Hey!" one of the men shouted. "Just what do you think you're doing under there?!"

"Helping," the fox demon replied simply, his furry legs protruding from beneath the wooden floor. Before the men asked how in the world he thought he was going to help, he put a leaf to his forehead under the cart and transformed, rapidly inflating into the massive pink ball form he'd used as a child to escape danger and carry his friends. The men jumped back at the sight of him, some falling onto their rears in shock. One even tried to run away, but his sandal came loose and tripped him.

"Well?" Shippo asked impatiently, his voice deepened by his new form. "I can't hold this forever. Get the new axle in there, quick!"

"Go, do it!" Rin shouted. "He's trying to help!"

Something in her tone commanded obedience, a trick she'd picked up from her lord. Combined with their confusion and fright, it made for quick action as the men rapidly replaced the axle and put the wheel back on. Once that was done, Shippo let the air out of his transformation and went back to his usual self, crawling out from beneath to help the men push the cart out of the mud. When the cart was back on the road, the men were left scratching the backs of their heads and apologizing.

"Sorry," said the one who'd initially noticed them. "I guess I panicked. It wasn't right of me to judge you just by looking. You'd think I'd know better after that Jinenji fella helped me, but old lessons are tough to unlearn. If I were you, I probably wouldn't have helped, I won't lie, raccoon-dog."

"I'm a fox. And I'm not you. It's actually kinda funny you mention Jinenji. He's an old friend of mine. He helped us out a while ago, and he earned people's trust in his own village by helping them. Kagome said that was a good way to teach people better. What you do for people will speak for itself."

"I guess you're right, kid. People learn what they see and what they experience and take it to heart. Nothing personal, but demons usually mean trouble, so even little ones scare the Hell outta most of us. We should probably think more before we act or talk, given folk like you and that Jinenji runnin' around. Sort of a measure twice, cut once type of idea. My old man taught me that about woodworking. I guess for people it's more like think twice, judge once."

"There," Rin said with her trademark winning smile, "that's a good way to look at it! I think the world could be a better place with more of that attitude! People do all kinds of great things when they work together instead of fighting for no reason!"

Rin's smile proved as infectious as ever, spreading to the men of the caravan, who broke out into their own sheepish grins and further apologies, as well as thanks for the help and offers to share a meal, which the demon and the priestess accepted.

Over the food, they talked and exchanged names and stories. The men said they wouldn't have believed Rin's story from anyone else, but something about her made her seem trustworthy, and they had a few unbelievable tales of their own to share, from witnessing battles between ferocious demons to one man claiming he'd met foreigners, massive men in red jackets and bizarre hats, a tale few if any believed. Rin helped treat a few small scrapes and burns for the men, and both she and Shippo helped clean up after. They parted with the caravan on good terms, waving as they went their separate ways.

"Well," Shippo said as they got out of sight of one another, "that could have been a lot worse. Especially without you, Rin. Thanks for sticking up for me."

"It's what friends do," Rin replied. "I know you'd do the same thing for me if it was a pack of demons. This is how we make the world better, Shippo. We win hearts and minds with good will, and we bring everyone a little closer."

Shippo laughed and said, "Rin, you sound more and more like Kagome every day!"

Rin giggled in return and said, "She must be rubbing off on me."

"I think Sesshomaru did more of that. You could have gotten anyone to listen to you with that voice. You're something special."

"So are you, Shippo. I think most people would have refused to help them, after how they greeted us."

"I guess roaming around between Kagome and Inu-Yasha made me more mature. Someone had to be."

The two of them laughed their way down the road, continuing to chatter until the sun began to set and the time to make camp for the second night came. It was the beginning of summer, and thus warm enough to sleep out under the stars by a fire- in shifts, of course. Failing to keep watch was a mistake they couldn't afford. The night sky was clear, every star and constellation brightly visible, the moon in its crescent phase, reminding Rin of her lord. She hoped he wouldn't be worried about her if he came back to the village before she did. She did so hate to cause him trouble.

On the third day, they began to clean up their camp at sunrise, well-rested in spite of being only two to keep watch for an entire night. On they went, enjoying every step in one another's company, companionship making every moment just a little better, the bond between two like-minded, good-hearted individuals improving everything it touched.


	3. A Good Day to Be Alive

It had been four days now since Rin and Shippo had come across the caravan, and while they drew closer to Totosai's forge, supplies were beginning to run low. No matter how they looked at it, they were going to have to stop in a village to barter for more. It wasn't an idea they liked. Visiting a village other than Edo meant risking a fight with paranoid or superstitious villagers, a prospect made only a little less likely by Rin's status as a priestess. Shippo knew his heritage was plain as day, but he also didn't want to let Rin go in alone, and so they went together into the next village they came across, just a few hours into the sixth day of their trek.

The village was a small place, more likely than not without a name, a collection of maybe six farming families living and working together in relative peace, too small for bandits or lords to be bothered harassing but still with enough people to get by even when some were too sick or hurt to work. However, in spite of the sun in the sky and fine weather, nobody seemed to be working the fields, which struck them as odd- fields needed tending to produce a good crop yield, and would wither without attention. Concerned, they went to find the largest of the small homes there, the likely home of the headman, and Rin called out.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

"Go away!" a voice responded. "We've no need of further demons here! My people saw you before you came in, I know there's a fox with you."

Shippo gave an exasperated sigh. He knew this would happen. But a word caught his attention, and he decided to question it. "Further demons? You mean there's one already here?"

"Yes, and it's keeping us from our fields! If this goes on our crop will be ruined and we'll starve! We have troubles enough already, now leave us alone!"

"We could exorcise it for you," Rin offered. "I'm a priestess, I can help you. Please tell me about the demon in your fields."

At that, the headman- a small fellow, likely no more than twenty years of age- poked his head out from under the curtain serving as his door. "You wear a priestess' clothes, but traveling with a demon tells another story!"

"I'm not here to hurt anyone," Shippo assured the headman. "I'm a traveler the same as anyone else."

"Sorry if I don't take your word for it, fox."

"What can we do to earn your trust?" Rin asked. "We only came to town to barter for supplies."

"A demon wants to barter," the headman snorted. "Imagine that. Why don't we kill two birds with one stone? You get rid of the demon in our fields and I'll believe you about being a priestess, and you can take three days' rice from our stores. More than a fair price to get back into our fields so we don't starve."

"There," Rin said, flashing her patented smile. "We came to an agreement. Now, tell us about this demon."

"Well, it's a pretty big one. Real nasty bastard, a giant snake. It's already eaten two of us and just plain killed one more. Normally, we'd call in demonslayers, but nobody's been able to contact them in nearly a decade. Too bad. They'd probably have made short work of the damn thing. Best be careful- it's sneaky, and the bites'll rot the flesh right off your bones. The thing attacks just about whatever wanders into the fields, laying low in the grass, trying to catch its prey unaware."

Shippo rubbed his chin, deep in thought for a few moments. "I think I have an idea," he said. "Let's go, Rin. This'll be over before it starts."

 **MUQFF**

But a few minutes later, they were at the edges of the fields. Shippo pulled an acorn from his vest and tossed it, using his fox magic to form a clone. "Get an arrow ready, Rin," he said, directing the replica Shippo into the fields to wander. It didn't take long at all for the snake to burst up from the rice fields, rearing its ugly head, which might have been as big as most of the huts in the village all on its own. "Loose your arrow!"

Rin let her arrow fly, and it flew true, striking the snake in the eye, but she and Shippo had forgotten to account for something important- she was not as powerful as the priestesses who'd trained her, not even close. She'd certainly done her damage, leaving the snake hissing in pain, but her arrow had failed to destroy it, giving the injured demon the chance to dive down on them while Rin drew another arrow from her quiver. While it missed her, it still came down before she could fully draw her bow, knocking her over and sending the arrow flying weak and wild, while the snake turned its attention to Shippo, who fell on his rear, panicked, and resorted to the most basic magic he knew. From his hands came the blue foxfire, hotter by far than it had been when he was a child, though still not very strong an attack. Even so, it was enough to turn the snake away and buy himself a few moments to remove several pebbles from his vest, and toss them in the air. It was time to try that new spell. As they fell, the rocks grew and grew, until they were massive boulders. His illusion was more than real enough for the snake, which fell under their imaginary weight hissing and writhing, pinned to the earth by his magic. "Quick, Rin!" he shouted. "Shoot it! I don't know how long I can hold this!"

Rin nodded and began drawing and loosing her sacred arrows just as fast as she could, leaving the thrashing creature in more and more pain until it could feel no more. Her fingers bleeding and her quiver empty, she sank to her knees as Shippo's illusion gave out and the snake twitched the last of its death throes, the two heroes panting, exhausted but victorious. Rin wasn't quite used to fighting yet- Edo was relatively peaceful, and Sesshomaru had done most of the fighting when they traveled together. The adrenaline had her shaking like a leaf.

A few minutes later, they could stand again, and Rin began picking up any arrows she could reuse, with Shippo's help. "We should be glad we're not hurt," the fox demon said. "That thing was stronger than I thought."

"I know," Rin said. "Lord Sesshomaru always made it seem so easy when he fought."

"For him, it is easy. He's a powerful demon. But I'm not that strong at all, and you're a regular human. Maybe it was a mistake to think this'd be as easy for us as Inu-Yasha would find it."

"But we still beat it!" Rin exclaimed. "Now these people can go back into the fields without worrying and we have enough supplies to get to the forge. Everything worked out alright in the end."

 **MUQFF**

When they showed the headman the snake, he was astonished, apologizing in shock for his doubts. As agreed, they took their payment in rice and went along their way with a goodbye much warmer than the greeting had been.

"I'm glad we decided to help those people," Rin said.

"So am I," Shippo replied. "I'm a little sore, but I feel good about it. It feels good to do good. Or, that's how Miroku used to put it when he was _actually_ helping people and not just pretending their houses were haunted so he could get free housing out of them."

"Miroku really did that?!"

"All the time. Still, the rest of us don't get to be mad about it. We let him do it and we weren't exactly missing out on the benefits. It probably saved our butts more than a few times, too."

Rin nodded. "Sometimes, we have to do things we don't like to get by."

"I wouldn't call it getting by. It was too good for those words. Miroku's cons were practically an art. He turned over a new leaf when he settled down with Sango, big time. He's still a big pervert, but only for her now."

Rin suddenly burst out laughing, a deep laugh that came right from the belly. It proved contagious, rapidly spreading to Shippo as they walked down the road to Totosai's forge, and lasted them for some time as the fox prolonged it by telling tales of Miroku's ever wilder schemes, plots and scams, both the times they went right and those that went wrong.

When they were done laughing, they found that they were no longer quite as tired or as sore as they'd been before, though they still leaned on one another a little for support by the end of the day's walk. The day had ended well- progress made, supplies replenished, and a battle won. It was a good day to be alive, Shippo decided. A good day to be alive.


	4. Good Company

After very nearly a full week of journeying, their supplies coming close to depletion, Shippo and Rin had finally made their way to Totosai's forge. The skull inside which Totosai kept his workshop was intimidating to Rin, but Shippo, knowing the old man who worked there to be harmless, if a bit odd, disregarded it in his approach. He wondered what sort of sword the master smith would have for him.

"Totosai?" he inquired. "Are you home?"

A snore answered the young fox and got a long, exasperated sigh out of him. "Well," Rin said, "at least we know he's here."

"I bet he hasn't even started yet," Shippo said dryly. "He probably just said he'd get going right away to get Inu-Yasha off his back."

"Maybe," Rin said with a giggle. "Can you blame him?"

"Not really. Totosai. _Totosai!"_ Shippo shouted. "Get up!"

All he got in response was unintelligible groaning as the old smith rolled over. Shippo leaned down to shake the old man, gently grabbing hold of his shoulder and shaking. "Totosai, get up. It's Shippo."

This time, the swordsmith spoke something comprehensible. "I'm a tired old man. What do you want with me?"

"You're a tired old man who made a promise," Shippo reminded him. "You told Inu-Yasha you were making me a sword."

"What? I did? ... Oh, yes. I remember. I just told him I'd get started right away so he'd leave me alone. But he did make some valid points, so I'll still be making it. What he's forgotten is I need fresh material! I can't make a sword from a dead fang!"

"You want me to hunt down a demon..."

"What? No! Open your mouth, brat!"

"Why would I do-?" Shippo began to question, but was interrupted when, as his mouth opened wide to pronounce a vowel, Totosai reached in with his tongs and yanked one of the fox's fangs clean out! "Oh, _damn_! Why'd you do that?!"

"To make the sword, you fool! Did you already forget how I made Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga? A sword made of your own fang will serve you well, boy! Master swordsmen say that a weapon is an extension of your body, but what they don't realize is that the idea works best when it's literal! Now quit your whining, that tooth'll grow back in no time!"

Shippo grumbled, rubbing the bleeding spot in his gums where Totosai had pulled his tooth while Rin helped him stand, sighing. She'd met odd people before, and had quickly learned to accept their oddities and eccentricities. "Mister Totosai?"

"Hm? What is it, girl?"

"I wanted to thank you," she said. "Lord Sesshomaru saved my life with the Tenseiga you forged."

Totosai blinked twice. "Did he? I always thought he'd picked you up alive and well. Never thought to ask him about you. Maybe you're the one who triggered the change in his heart..."

"A change of heart?" Rin asked.

Totosai nodded and Shippo explained. "Sesshomaru wasn't always the way he is now. When we met him for the first time, he _was_ trying to kill us. He grew a lot after he met you. His heart warmed up a little. Just a little."

"It's hard to believe," Rin said as Totosai began his forging. "Lord Sesshomaru might not always show it on the outside, but I know he cares about me and Master Jaken very much."

"It's a pretty big change. I think it's because you showed him a little kindness. It must have forced him to look back over his entire worldview when he realized people would do nice things just because they could. I'm glad everything went the way it did- we'd never have beaten Naraku without him."

"Get out of my forge!" Totosai yelled at them. "Come back in five days! I need quiet so I can focus!"

The duo hurried outside, not wanting to make Totosai angry. "So," Shippo said, "we have five days... And one days' supplies..."

"There's a river a few hours' walk away. Rivers mean good water, and good water usually means food. There's probably fish, at least, and probably plenty of plants we can eat. We won't be traveling much, so foraging for food will be easy. We might even be able to scrounge up enough for the trip back, or at least some of it."

"Wow, Rin... It's easy to forget sometimes that you used to have to do stuff like this a lot. It's like thinking about how Kaede used to be a little girl, or something. It seems so much longer ago than it really is."

"I know," the priestess replied. "I think it's kind of funny that Kagome and I are priestesses, with all the demon friends we have. Don't you?"

"I never really thought about it. When I met Kagome, all I knew was that she and Inu-Yasha were willing to help me out and they seemed like good people, and from there I thought more about how lucky I was I had good friends than I did about what they were. I think that's how people should try to think. It isn't about who's a human or a demon or anything in between. Lots of demons are good people, and lots of humans aren't so great. We should just try and be good people."

"Well, aren't you wise?" asked a strange new voice from behind them. The sudden sound made the both of them jump out of their skin as they turned to see the source- another fox demon, right around their own age, with a heavy-looking pack. He looked well-off, dressed in a silk kimono and hakama, with a sheathed sword on the large end of being a wakizashi thrust through his obi, edge up. His hair vibrant red hair was restrained in a ponytail, although the bangs were allowed to hang free above his blue eyes. "You two are a pain to find, you know that? Lord Sesshomaru comes to Edo with a new tanto for you and finds you're off on a journey with some young fox! Imagine!"

"You serve Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin inquired.

"Yes," the new fox demon answered. "My father came into his service during the first war with the cat demons almost sixty years ago and spends most of his time looking after the castle while our lord is gone, but I have no such commitments, so he gave me the order to come find you. Lord Sesshomaru would have come himself, but something came up with his mother. Family matters, right? He also told me to deliver this tanto," he went on, offering her the small blade, which she took readily. "The enemy isn't always far away."

"Lord Sesshomaru has my thanks, as always."

"He also gave me the order to make sure you get back home safely, which seems to mean a fair bit of travel. I don't know why he's going to such trouble for you, but you must be one important girl."

"So you're her bodyguard," Shippo said.

"That's about the shape of it, yeah. At least until we get her home. Lord Sesshomaru also told me to say something to you. Watch yourself. He's pretty protective of her."

Shippo suddenly looked a little paler. This other fox demon was not, himself, intimidating, but the demon he spoke for most certainly was. "That's... Good to know..."

"I suppose I should tell you my name. It's Yukifusa. And Lord Sesshomaru identified the two of you as Rin and Shippo."

"He knows my name?! He's never called me by it before!"

"Of course he does. Our lord makes a point to know who his family, companions and vassals associate with. Even his half-brother. He simply hasn't had a reason to say your name before. Now, how long will we stand around here before we get moving?"

"About five days," Shippo said. "Totosai lied to Inu-Yasha about starting the sword right away."

"Go figure," Yukifusa responded. "Lord Sesshomaru did mention once that the old man is, well, frankly, the word he used was 'insane.' Not exactly inaccurate, given some of the tales Jaken told me about how stubborn he is."

"You should have seen when _we_ met him the first time. He was trying to look after Tetsusaiga _while Inu-Yasha was swinging it at him._ He blocked it with a strop and started sharpening right there!"

"I guess he stopped worrying when he got older," Rin mused out loud. "Maybe if you live long enough and see enough, things don't seem like such a big deal."

"If that's what it is, Totosai must be positively ancient!" Yukifusa said as he burst into laughter at the mental image of that old man sitting inside the forge not so far away putting nothing more than a strip of leather between himself and one of the most powerful weapons anyone had ever made. "You need to do a lot of not caring to be able to do _that_ and stay calm!"

Shippo laughed with him, and said, "Looking back, I guess it was pretty funny! You should have seen the look on Inu-Yasha's face, it was _priceless_!"

"If what Jaken had to say about that friend of yours is anywhere near true? I'd bet my supper on it. He sounds pretty irritable."

"You don't know the half of it," Shippo grumbled, rubbing the spot on his head where the half-demon had consistently managed to raise goose eggs. "Couldn't take a joke, either. He's better now, I guess."

"How does a fox demon get along with someone who can't take a joke?"

"Where do you get off asking that when you work for Sesshomaru? You're a fox yourself!"

"Lord Sesshomaru isn't totally devoid of humor. Believe it or not, my father tells me he actually heard our lord laugh once. To hear the old man tell it, our lord's rare laughter is borderline magical. I don't know if it's all it's cracked up to be, but I'd still like to hear it sometime just so I can say I did. But I guess you've got a point. Lord Sesshomaru has never seemed terribly amused by our kind of jokes."

"I caught him smiling once," Rin said. "It was a long time ago. I think it was something I gave him. His face went back to normal as soon as he realized what he was doing, but I'll never forget it."

"Neither would I," Shippo and Yukifusa said together.

"We should go make camp," Rin said. "I'm getting hungry and I bet you two feel the same."

"I caught some good meat on the way. A little salt and it'll go just fine with rice and beans," Yukifusa said. "I could never eat it on my own, and I hate seeing food go to waste. And besides all that, we're traveling together. We're going to have to pool resources, right?"

"That sounds perfect," Rin said. "I saw a good spot a little way back."

"I like the idea. Thanks, Yukifusa. We're in good company."

 **MUQFF**

Meanwhile, somewhere a great distance from Totosai's forge and even further from Edo, Sesshomaru came to his mother's home, and descended, accompanied only by Jaken, to its lowest level. In the torchlight, he carefully opened the heavy wooden door and stepped into the tomb. There she lay, at rest, her wounds stitched shut. As he reached for his Tenseiga, he realized that there were no denizens of the underworld there for him to cut away, meaning that he could not revive her with his sword. This was most curious- he had no recollection of having used Tenseiga for her benefit before.

"Milord?" Jaken asked, unable to detect the absence of the underworld demons. "Is something wrong?"

"Something is very wrong, Jaken. Mother has been murdered, and the Tenseiga can do nothing for her, even though this is her first death. That makes this unusual. It is disconcerting that anyone might be able to block Tenseiga's power. We have a powerful enemy, Jaken. We must leave to find them at once," the great demon lord said, turning on his heels to walk away. As he reached the door, he heard a voice behind him. His mother's voice.

"Going somewhere, Sesshomaru?"

As he and Jaken turned, what they'd thought was a corpse began to transform. Sesshomaru's mother was revealing her true form, a frightening image indeed. The gigantic demon dog lunged, and while Jaken panicked, Sesshomaru drew Bakusaiga and prepared to do battle.

 **MUQFF**

 _ **A/N: I'd just like to give a shoutout to A93beach16 for being the first one to post a review and point out some mistakes I'd made in my proofreading that, frankly, I should have caught myself the first time. I know it's not just her, though- I see way more than one visitor. Please, give me feedback. I need you to be a second set of eyes as well as an audience. The more you tell me about what I'm doing right or wrong, the more I can use that information to write interesting, engaging, believable and enjoyable stories for you. As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy.**_


	5. Surely You Jest?

Five days of foraging, camping, and exchanging stories later, Totosai had finished Shippo's sword. He presented it to the boy with pride- Totosai was many things, not least among them someone who put a great deal of passion into his work, in spite of all appearances. "Behold!" the old man exclaimed. "Nenshoga! Hardly my greatest work, but definitely a fine weapon! I hope you appreciate my work more than Toga's ungrateful sons did! Do you have any idea how hard it is to make a sword that lights on fire without completely ruining the temper?"

"It does _what_?" Shippo asked.

"You heard me, boy! This weapon was forged from your fang! As an extension of your body, it shares your powers as a demon. Like any demon sword, it's a lot tougher than ordinary steel. A little heavier, too, but you, a little practice and a few push-ups can sort that out easy enough. In the end it might be helpful for a demon- a heavier blade carries more force. The extra weight might slow down a human, but you're not human. What makes this weapon unique is that it can carry your foxfire. Just be careful. If you break it, I won't be happy!"

"I promise you I won't take it for granted," Shippo said. "I know how valuable this is. I'm lucky."

"Deserving, more like! If good luck was all you had, I'd never have made this sword. You're a good kid. I feel like you're going to do something worth doing with that sword."

"I... Thanks, Totosai. It means a lot when someone puts faith in me."

"Don't make it misplaced, kid. Now get outta here! I'm old, I need naps!"

The old smith- who was indeed tired from his time at the forge- irritably shooed them from his workshop, sending them back on their way, and proceeded to lay down, but found he had a bit of trouble sleeping. He really did hope he was right about that young fox.

 **MUQFF**

Not long after, they had eaten, packed up and begun the journey back to Edo. A few hours in, it began to rain. It wasn't quite a downpour, but enough to start soaking their clothes in a few minutes. Shippo and Yukifusa, being the thinkers they were, picked up a pair of leaves, and enlarged them to serve as umbrellas. Walking between them under their combined cover, Rin also stayed plenty dry, though the resulting mud dirtied eveyone's sandals and stained the bottoms of their hakama.

"Never much liked rain," Yukifusa said to break the silence. "But it keeps the crops growing. People need to eat."

"I like it," Rin replied. "It's better inside, but I like listening to it. For some reason, the sound of rain makes me happy. And it brings out the best fishing bait."

"I never really thought about it," Shippo mused. "Rain was always just rain. Nothing that special about it."

"I wouldn't say that," Rin said to him. "Everything nature does is practically a miracle. Rain, rivers, fire... The world is pretty much a perfect place for people."

"Yeah," Yukifusa snorted. "Only problem is it's full of people. Human or demon, most people are fine, but you know what they say about bad apples. One guy with an inflated ego or a mean streak is all it takes sometimes. But I guess that makes it more important to try and be a good person yourself."

"You sure take an odd view on things, Yukifusa. You should talk to Kagome sometime- she was always saying weird stuff when we were traveling."

"Eh, I'm an odd person. So is my father. That's what makes us valuable to Lord Sesshomaru, you see. We always have a new angle or some kind of creative thinking, and failing that, we're still at least capable fighters and leaders. And guards. You think I'm odd, wait until you meet my sister. Good kid but not right in the head, I tell you."

"Knowing my life, I don't think it'll be long."

"Hah! Pattern recognition! That's good, Shippo. Shows smarts."

"We know a lot of very smart people. Kaede, Lord Sesshomaru, Kagome, Miroku, Sango... They know how to read, and all kinds of other useful stuff," Rin said. "I think we're pretty lucky, for that."

"You can say that again. If Kagome and Kaede didn't know how to heal people, a lot of us would be way worse off, and Miroku is so good with people. Well, most of the time, anyway."

Rin nodded. "And Lord Sesshomaru is very wise, too. I learned more from him than I ever thought I'd know."

"Hey, we can't count you out! You know more about living off the land than the rest of us put together, except maybe Inu-Yasha."

"Hey, wait a second, Yukifusa shouted as he finally finished counting on his fingers. "You know _three_ women who can read? I'm amazed you know more than one literate person in general! I know Lord Sesshomaru began to teach you, but I never thought humans really let women learn to read. Or that the men bothered learning it themselves."

"They don't, a lot of the time," Shippo said sadly. "Kaede got to learn because she was a priestess, Sango had to learn because of the job she was supposed to do when she got older, and _everyone_ can read where Kagome is from. I got lucky because my father taught me. A lot of people just don't really think of it as important. They have rice fields to tend and fish to catch."

"That's still pretty sad. Writing is an amazing way of communicating. If I write something today and the paper is taken care of, someone could probably still understand it in a hundred or two hundred years. It's a shame more people don't use it."

"They just have more important things to do," Rin said. Her tone was bitter, though she hid it well enough that only Shippo could tell, as Yukifusa had only known her for a few days. "Reading doesn't seem so important when you've worked from sunrise to sunset in a field trying to make sure there's something edible out there at harvest time and just want to relax and get some sleep."

"Guess not. I'd probably be too tired to study too, if I was a human out there swinging around a... A hoe or a rake or whatever all day every day. Hell, that must be exhausting."

"Exactly," said Rin. "It's about priorities. Being alive comes first."

"Yeah... Survival. No point knowing how to read if you're starving to death. This Kagome must come from one Hell of a nice place if every human there has time to learn to read, now that I think about it."

"Not to kill the conversation, but I think we took a wrong turn somewhere," Shippo said. "I don't remember this castle being here on the way in."

Yukifusa and Rin looked up. The fox bodyguard started cursing a blue streak that would have made Inu-Yasha blush, ranting about how this was going to add time to their travel back to Edo. Rin's eyes went wide at the sound of it. The profanity was an exquisite tapestry the likes of which she'd never heard before. It went on for but a few moments before he trailed off, realizing what he was doing. The silence hung for a moment before he profuse swearing was replaced with profuse apologies. How unbelievable that he'd spoken such foul words in front of a lady at all, let alone Lord Sesshomaru's precious Rin!

Fortunately, Rin collected herself and assured him it was fine.

"Are we done?" Shippo asked impatiently. "Because we _are_ going to need a place to stay for the night. I bet there's somewhere we could stay inside those walls. It'll be safer than being out here, and warmer."

"You're right," Rin said. "But..."

"How do we get in there? Two of us are full-fledged demons," Yukifusa said, finishing her thoughts. "I know you know humans aren't exactly receptive most of the time. I doubt they'll let us in, and staying unwelcome is dangerous. Also just plain rude."

"It's worth a try," Rin said, flashing her winning smile again. "The worst they can do is turn us away!"

 **MUQFF**

Still under their leaf umbrellas, the trio approached the gate, which was guarded by a pair of soldiers. They seemed tired, perhaps a little bored, but attentive enough to order them to halt. "Who goes there? What's your business?"

"Just some travelers looking for a roof for the night," Yukifusa answered. "We thought there might be lodgings available for rent."

"Not a chance," one of the soldiers answered. "I'm not letting a pair of demons anywhere near my lord. He and his people live inside these walls, so you stay outside them."

"Hey, wait a minute," his counterpart said, "those two are foxes! The lord might actually want to see them! It's known that fox demons are masters of illusion. You know how he loves a good show, and this castle's been hurting for entertainment lately. Keep them here- maybe our lord is willing to offer shelter in exchange for a few laughs, and maybe we get in his good graces for delivering a couple of fine performers for the evening."

"You mean someone might finally appreciate my magic?" Shippo asked. "I'm in, but I don't know about you..."

"Hey, being entertaining is a personal hobby of mine. Used to do it for attention when I was little, but now it's great for keeping up morale and getting people to like me. I'm in if it gets us out of this rain."

The soldiers looked at one another a little uncertainly, but one of them ran off to fetch someone who might be able to make a decision on letting them in. The lot of them stood in silence until the second soldier returned, with good news. "We've decided to allow it. Our lord will see you in his hall, with his daughter, the princess. No funny business, any of you. One false move..."

"Of course," Yukifusa answered. "I understand completely."

"You'll also be leaving your weapons outside the lord's home. Hard to trust strangers these days, especially demons. A lot of the men don't like this, letting you in, but our lord gave the order."

"Let's not make their worries justified," Shippo said. "It's bad enough already."

"It'll all be fine," Rin said, flashing her smile. Shippo was starting to see it had only gotten more charming as the human girl aged. "You two aren't bad demons. I'm sure they'll come around."

"Thank you, Lady Rin. It means a lot to hear positive words from you."

"You don't need to call me 'Lady,' Yukifusa. I'm just a regular person," Rin said. "I'm really not that special."

"You're special to Lord Sesshomaru. It's enough for me."

"You put a lot of faith in him," Shippo said as they were lead through the small town inside the walls.

"Of course I do. He is my lord. My old man didn't make that choice blindly and neither did I."

"Neither did I," Rin said in agreement. "I saw the good in him when we met. It was always there. I think he just had a bit of a hard time trying to show it."

"You can say that again," Shippo snorted as they were lead inside, leaving their arms at the door and discarding their makeshift umbrellas.

The interior of the walls was filled with small but respectable homes, as expected of a castle town, but the inside of the palace itself was a little beyond that. The lord who resided there certainly lived well, but hardly in excess or opulence. Nothing was in disrepair, but neither was it adorned with any great amount of gold or jewels, though a few tasteful works of art were on display, primarily paintings, with a few small sculptures in between. In the lord's hall, there sat the lord and his daughter on cushions, with a single guard standing off to the side, his sheathed katana in hand. Behind the ruler and the princess hung a wall scroll with a crest painted upon it, and a few words below that, likely a motto.

The lord himself was a small man, and portly, but otherwise quite nondescript. Neither terribly young nor old, sporting a kind smile and a soft voice, yet still authoritative. "I see you've brought me a pair of foxes."

Shippo, Rin and Yukifusa took deep bows. "We would be most honored if you would allow us to entertain you, my lord," Yukifusa said. "All we would ask in exchange is a night's shelter."

"My guards told me you came seeking a place to stay the night," the lord said, hardly noticing as the foxes' eyes wandered to the princess. Fortunately, Rin continued to pay full attention. "I'm quite prepared to accept that offer. It makes me happy that the value of good fun is not so lost on everyone as it is on my sons. The people have fields to tend, they tell me, and I have my lands to oversee, but all people need rest and recreation. Without it, we slowly go mad."

As the lord went on, Yukifusa and Shippo took in the princess, and were shocked to see her looking back. Young and fair-skinned, with long, dark hair and an excellent figure, she was a picture-perfect young lady. The lord's next words drew the foxes out of their little trance. "Now, how will you entertain me, young men?"

They shook themselves out of their beauty-induced stupor in time to answer without seeming witless. "Behold, my lord," Yukifusa said, "the beautiful illusions of fox magic!"

Without further ado, he tossed a small handful of fine pebbles into the air and began to work his magic, suspending each of them in the air and turning it into a shimmering light, like so many stars scattered in the air above him, and began to make them dance, while the lord and the princess stared in awe and wonder at the swirls, turns, dives and ascents the little lights made. To the three humans in the room, it all almost looked improvised, but Shippo, familiar as he was with the workings of fox magic, knew it to be a pre-planned routine, and, while hardly lackluster, it was still nothing special. He carried it on for several minutes before pulling the pebbles back into his hand, to a modest amount of applause.

Shippo decided to take things a step further and began a brilliant display of one-upmanship, creating a pair of figures entirely from a gently burning foxfire, a man and a woman. He began to make them dance as partners, intertwined and in perfect sync. Yukifusa, not to be outdone, pulled a flute from inside his kimono and began to play. Shippo, flexible and courageous as ever, improvised and adapted, bringing the movements of the figures made by his foxfire into harmony with the music, a light, fast tune perfectly suited to festivals and celebrations. Even the guard in the back of the room was captivated by the joint display.

As the dance intensified, Shippo focused further and made the foxfire change color, from blue to red, a simple trick to play, and back to blue as the music came back down. As Yukifusa concluded his song, Shippo concluded his visual display by turning his dancers pink, and having them kiss. The foxfire and music vanished at the same time, leaving the spectators in awe after very nearly a quarter of an hour. "Simply brilliant," the lord said. "I knew I made a good decision, allowing you within my walls. Do go on, young men."

The praise left both of them glowing, though Shippo showed it more. "I'm just happy you appreciate it so much," Shippo said, buying a few moments to think up another display. The princess, it seemed, had grown even more intently focused on them, and he noticed. Her expectant looks began to spur his creativity forward, and the show went on.

 **MUQFF**

An hour or so later, the trio bowed their way out with shelter secured for the night, the fox demons exhausted from expending such energy on their illusions. Once safely away from the lord's chambers, they began to speak as they were led down the hall.

"I'm impressed," Yukifusa said. "Your illusions are incredibly believable, for someone who had to self-teach so much."

"And I didn't think you could make music," Shippo replied.

"You work so well together, too!" Rin interjected. "It's hard to believe you met eachother so recently, after the way you coordinated yourselves!"

"It wasn't that hard, Rin," Shippo said with a shrug. "All we had to do was sync up our rhythms and improvise a few lines, really."

"I'd say we thoroughly impressed our audience," said Yukifusa. "I'm pretty pleased with myself. Aren't you, Shippo?"

"Of course I am! Someone actually _enjoyed_ my magic! I like to play tricks as much as the next fox, but that doesn't mean I don't like doing this, too. Being appreciated feels good."

"Everyone appreciates you, Shippo," Rin said. "More than you know."

Shippo didn't say anything in return, but those words brought an ear-to-ear grin to his face as they retrieved their weapons at the door, pleased that they'd been left untouched, and were led to a small building, a little barn full of hay. "Our lord apologizes," the soldier escorting them said, "but there isn't much in the way of beds inside the palace except for special areas set aside for... Well, for more important visitors, frankly."

"Don't worry about it," Rin said. "We're grateful to have shelter at all."

"Thank you," the soldier said as he backed out. "Rest well. You deserve it, after the show I heard you put on."

They simply nodded as they began to settle in. They slept a little further apart than usual, rather than the usual huddling for warmth, made doable by the insulating straw, but still close enough to be safe, and fell into a warm, sound sleep.

 **MUQFF**

Later on, in the dead of night, Shippo found himself woken up by a pressure in his lap. He groaned, opened his eyes and looked up to find the princess straddling him and looking nervous. "I need you to take me with you."

"Wh- what?"

"Please, take me with you, kind fox. I want to be with you."

Shippo began to sputter, stumbling over his words with no clue how to respond, although he eventually settled on saying "But I don't even know your name! You must be joking!"

"I do not jest!"

"This is crazy!"

"Shinoko," she said. "My name is Shinoko."

"I... Shippo. I'm Shippo. But-"

In that moment, they were interrupted as a guard opened the door. "Princess Shinoko! You're safe! Your father will be relieved to hear. You had him worried sick. I'm sorry about this. Every time a handsome young man comes by, she tries to leave with him. I think she doesn't like the man our lord picked out for her."

"It's fine," Shippo said, still tired and confused. "We're all okay," he mumbled, quickly falling back asleep and turning over while the guard walked the princess away, the other two companions none the wiser.

 **MUQFF**

The next day, everyone woke up relatively early, yawning and stretching, and Shippo recounted the tale to the others, asking whether he should do anything about it.

"Sounds like a complicated issue," Yukifusa said. "She has a duty to her family. But she's also still her own person. There is no good answer, Shippo. This world we live in is _not_ a place fond of simple solutions and clear-cut answers."

"I think we should talk to the lord about it," Rin suggested. "It sounds like she hasn't actually voiced her feelings on it to her father. Maybe if she told him..."

"Maybe," Shippo said. "But maybe it isn't right for us to get involved. None of us really knows much about how the human upper class works. It's a private problem. I really just want to leave it alone and go home."

"That sounds like the pragmatic decision," Yukifusa said, nodding. "You're the one she came to. I'll leave it to you."

"We should just go. The lord likes us. Let's not change that."

Rin didn't seem happy with that solution, but kept silent as the group packed up and stepped outside into a clear, sunny day, puddles everywhere but likely to dry up by sunset. A good start for traveling. As they left the palace, Shinoko was waiting for them. The princess rushed over to Shippo and took his hand. "Shippo, I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have pushed you like that, or dragged you into this. Forgive me."

"I was never mad," Shippo said. "I understand. Talk to your father about it- he seems like an understanding person. Maybe if he knew how you felt, it might help change his mind. You can't expect him to just _know._ "

"Perhaps you are correct," Shinoko said, looking down and away. "Today, I will talk to him. Perhaps he does not realize. Thank you, kind fox," she finished, letting go of his hand. "Safe journeys."

"Thanks. Good luck, Shinoko. I hope you can work this out."

"I shall try," she said. "Goodbye. I hope to see you again."

"I hope so, too," Shippo said. "Goodybe."

And with that, the trio set off again down the road, side by side as they tried once again to navigate to Edo, finding the right direction by looking to the sun, going on their way back home.

"So," Yukifusa asked, "do you usually wake up to good-looking women on top of you, lucky man?"

"Do you not?" Shippo asked smugly. Yukifusa and Rin could only burst out laughing at the response, the joys of companionship helping lighten the burden of the road.

 **MUQFF**

 _ **A/N: I just wanted to add that, sitting at 3.8k words according to the counter at the top of the word processor I'm using for the final edit, this is my longest single chapter yet! I know I write like a broken record on this, but thank you for reading, as always.**_


	6. Shiroyasuha

Some three more days into their journey, the trio came across a sizeable village, large and wealthy enough to have mostly permanent homes, solidly constructed, and a blacksmith whose forge and tools suggested he might be proficient enough to be doing business in more than farm tools and cutlery, working outside in nothing more than hakama and an apron, banging away at a slab of metal he was shaping, sending sparks up with every strike of his hammer, with a younger man, probably his son, holding it still on the anvil for him while he explained what he was doing and coached the boy. Not far from him, a woman worked at weaving a kimono with help from a girl who was likely her daughter, teaching in much the same manner as the blacksmith, patiently explaining and coaching, while other villagers were coming back in from the fields looking sweaty and tired, ready for a midday meal and some water from the well, trying not to trip over the young children underfoot. While Rin in her priestess outfit stood out, she was hardly anything remarkable- priestesses were common enough. Shippo got a few more looks because of his legs and tapered ears. But in all of this, the true fish out of water was Yukifusa. His fine garments and the ornate sheath for his wakizashi made him stick out like a sore thumb even more than his demon features. Rin caught some villagers quietly wondering why two demons, one of whom was obviously at least moderately wealthy, would be traveling with a priestess. One was brave enough to approach. "Lady priestess," he asked, "why might you be with these demons?"

"They're good friends of mine," she said. Her smile made him believe it. Shippo stood there, thinking she could probably get away with murder if she really wanted to. "We came looking for water and directions to another village, if you would be so kind."

"Help yourselves to the well, but I'll tell you, the only one here who's ever gone more than a mile or so beyond this village would be our priest, Master Shigehiro. You can find him at the shrine about this time of day praying for our safety in the fields. I'm sure he'd be happy to help you."

"Thank you," Rin said. "You've been helpful."

"Hey, my pleasure. You probably didn't expect it, with those demons. We used to be pretty hostile until one saved our village from some bandits. Took to hanging around and eventually managed to get himself married to a nice girl. Never had any kids. They're gone now, but they were good folks. Taught us better."

"I'm glad to hear some people are having better experiences," Rin said. "You should go take your rest- working too hard for too long is bad for you."

"You're right. But as long as you don't do anyone any harm, pretty well anyone's welcome here," the villager said as he carried on back to his home, where his wife was waiting with fish and rice, faithful and loving as she was.

Rin sighed, relieved, as she and the foxes filled their waterskins from the well, with the villagers' leave. When they'd finished, they decided to go to the shrine to speak to this priest about finding their way. As they approached, Shippo and Yukifusa began to feel a little ill, though they chalked it up to spiritual power being exuded by an unwitting, well-meaning priest.

Rin was the only one to enter the shrine, walking in on the old man who was Shigehiro meditating, praying in such a quiet voice that it almost seemed like part of the ambient noise inherent in all places. She stood there for some time before the priest noticed her. Upon realizing someone else was present, he nearly jumped out of his skin with fright. "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to sneak up on someone like that?!" Shigehiro shouted at the young woman before him.

"I beg your pardon, sir," said Rin. "I didn't intend to startle you. I simply came to ask for directions."

"You walked in here just for directions? Pray tell, where to?"

"To Edo," she said. "We seem to have lost our way."

"Edo, you say, young priestess? Tell me, how is Kaede?"

"You know her?" Rin asked.

"Aye," the old man answered. "We worked together a few times many years ago, exorcising demons and healing wounded, when I was a little younger and a little less frail. I miss being able to go out into the world and do my work."

"She's well enough. She twisted her ankle a little while ago, but it's probably already on the mend, I'd say. I'll make sure to say hello for you."

"Thank you. It's good to hear she's well. I take it she taught you?"

"She still teaches me," Rin corrected. "I'm out on an errand with a friend."

"Your friend doesn't happen to be a demon, do they? I can feel a pair."

"They're here with me. Please don't mind them. They didn't come in because they felt sick."

"Nothing to be done about it- that aura lingers around here a while after my prayers. It isn't all me, mind you. Shiroyasuha's shard isn't helping."

"What's Shiroyasuha?" Rin asked curiously.

"A sword of cleansing," the old priest answered. "It puts souls at peace. It also has the ability to amplify the effects of spiritual powers, like ours. Lucky for us, not so much for your demon companions."

"I've never heard of it," the young woman said.

"I wouldn't expect it. It's old news, as is the demon who shattered it. Long before my time, and hopefully not to happen again during or anytime after my life. Still, it's important to keep it safe. But we're off-topic now, are we not? You came looking to return to Edo. Set out on the path northeast and you'll come onto the road that'll take you home, if you turn east from the fork. You can't miss it, since it's the only road branching off from there. Safe travels, young priestess. Do give Kaede my regards."

"I will," she said. "Thank you for your help."

"Think nothing of it."

 **MUQFF**

When Rin came back into the village proper, she found Shippo and Yukifusa by the well, sipping on the water. "So," Shippo asked, "did you get those directions?"

"I did. We should get moving, if you two are alright."

"All's well," Yukifusa said. "Let's go. This Kagome character is probably worried sick about you two, if Shippo's stories are even half-true."

"You wanna bet," Shippo sighed. "She means well, but she can be pretty overbearing nowadays. Maybe because she has time for it now. Walking all over the region looking for Naraku and jewel shards didn't leave as much time as she wanted to keep a constant eye on me."

"Eh, it was probably good for you. Learning self-sufficiency through practice, right?" Yukifusa said.

"I guess," Shippo said as they made their way out of the village and into a sparse forest. "I definitely don't regret all the times I wandered off, except for making them worry. I still needed to be a little kid. It probably _was_ good for me."

"Even if it wasn't, would you change it?" Rin asked. "It's part of why you are who you are now. I can't speak for you, but I like who you are."

Shippo could swear someone was cooking an egg on his face, but neither of his companions seemed to notice it one bit. "Thanks, Rin. That... It means a lot. I feel the same way," he said as they ventured onward, on what they hoped would be a fairly short road home.


	7. Return

_**A/N: Just wanted to drop in ahead of the chapter and thank you for reading. It probably feels like the millionth time, but knowing people at least like this enough to continue reading it is motivation to make more. Enjoy the show.**_

 **MUQFF**

True to Shigehiro's word, the path they travelled down soon took them back into Edo, where Kagome, Kaede and the others were waiting for them. Sango, Miroku and their children weren't far behind, and, bringing up the rear and doing his very best to seem indifferent, Inu-Yasha was there as well. Rin was glad to see Kaede on the mend so rapidly, and relayed the old priest's well-wishing to her. The elder priestess was surprised he was still alive and well. Inu-Yasha came to Shippo first. "The Hell took you so long?" the half-demon asked. "Go there, get the sword and come home. Seriously, it couldn't have been easier."

"Totosai needed fresh ingredients," Shippo said, pointing at his fang, which, by now, had grown back in. "And he wasn't very nice about getting them!"

"That's Totosai for you," the half-demon growled. "He could have just told me it was gonna take some time. Maybe then, I wouldn't have been so damn worried. Did you even look at the damn thing before you left?"

"I... No. No, I did not."

"Keh. Better late than never. Come on, draw it!"

Shippo did as instructed, carefully removing Nenshoga from its sheath. By all measures, it was a fine blade, with a clear, distinct hamon, a gentle curve, and a balance like nothing else Shippo had ever held. On inspecting the edge, he could tell simply by looking that it was sharp, more than fine enough to cut most anything he would have to fight. The hilt was just right for his hands, and could fit one or both, capped with a circular guard and wrapped in cloth dyed to match his hair and the sheath. Nenshoga was far from ornate, but all the more beautiful for it, form following function perfectly.

"It looks good, kid. You look good. Guess you're a man now."

Kagome scoffed. "Shippo is still a kid!"

"Yeah, maybe back in your weird era!"

"I know," she sighed. "It's just hard to remember that little things like that are so different here, even after this long."

Yukifusa's eyes lit up. "Then the rumors are true. We have a time traveller in our midst! I hardly believed Shippo when he said he knew a woman from the future. I must learn more."

"She's married," Miroku pointed out. For his trouble, everyone was treated to the sound of Sango's almighty backhand slap making contact. Shippo, not even looking, declared it a clean, solid hit.

"He's... Going to live, right?" Yukifusa asked.

"He's just being dramatic," Rin said. "You'll get used to that."

"If I stick around, I suppose. Lord Sesshomaru's orders were to get you back here safe and sound. But then, he didn't tell me to return immediately afterwards, and I don't really have any assigned tasks. First thing he's ever told me to do is this. I'll be here at least a little while, making double-sure that you're actually safe, but after that, I plan to return home."

Rin nodded. "Shippo and I were glad to have the company."

"I was glad to provide it."

Kagome tapped his shoulder. "Did you say you wanted to learn more about my era?"

"I definitely did. But not too far from Rin, or Lord Sesshomaru might start to take offense to my existence. Nobody wants to be a thing that offends Lord Sessshomaru."

"Don't I know it!"

Yukifusa went to take a seat with Kagome (well within the view of a watchful, protective Inu-Yasha, of course) to glean what he could about the strange future she came from. Rin went to sit just outside her little home and watch Shippo take his first test swings with Nenshoga. As far as she could tell, he was doing fine, chalking up the nagging feeling something was wrong with his form or technique to nothing, since she couldn't tell what it might be, but knew for sure that she liked watching him and wouldn't interrupt it for the whole world.

Shippo stood there and practiced until it was very nearly sunset, at which point he stopped for a moment and began to realize something important- his muscles were awfully tired now. So much time had gone by and yet Rin was still sitting there. "Were you watching this whole time?"

"I was," the young priestess said. "I didn't want to leave you alone."

Shippo could have sworn he felt his ears and face get warm, but chose to dismiss it as the exercise finally getting to him. "Thanks... I should probably have stopped for supper or something, but I guess I'll just eat something small and go to bed. You should rest, too. I get the feeling tomorrow is going to be long."

 **MUQFF**

The next day, most found that they woke rather late, but Inu-Yasha was up bright and early, courtesy of being literally kicked off of the sleeping mat by his loving wife, who he would never, ever admit he was afraid to wake up and scold over it. Unable to return to sleep, he decided it was prime time to go for a walk, past Kikyo's grave, where he briefly stopped to pay his respects, and into the woods, perhaps to pay the well and the sacred tree a visit, wishing to be away from the noise of the village rising in the morning for once. And it was there, at the well, that his brother landed before him, graceful and cold as always, with a significantly less graceful imp trailing behind. Sesshomaru looked down his nose at his half-brother and, without so much as a greeting, asked his brusque question. "Where are Rin and Yukifusa?"

"Well, hello to you too. Pretty sure they're still asleep. Rin's in her happy little home with Kaede, and I think your lackey set up his tent behind that."

"I see," Sesshomaru said, and then, with a bit of hesitation, "thank you."

"Are you alright?"

"I am fine," Sesshomaru said as he walked off.

Inu-Yasha stared at Sesshomaru's back, now extremely worried about what might be going on in his haughty brother's head to make him polite. Of all the things he'd seen and heard Sesshomaru do and say over the years, this was among the most concerning. Jaken, too, seemed worried, but dared not voice such an opinion.

When he arrived in the village, Sesshomaru first went to the recently awakened Kaede, who confirmed Inu-Yasha's guess at Rin's whereabouts, as well as Yukifusa's. "Go and fetch my fox for me," he commanded. "I must stay with Rin." Kaede responded with a snort as Sesshomaru walked into her home, but went to get Yukifusa anyway, preferring not to invite the wrath of a demon lord. Strong as she was, she had her limits, particularly in her advanced age, and Sesshomaru was well outside of them. She made the mistake of not announcing herself, and wound up walking in on the fox demon crouched under the fabric of his tent, in his loincloth, eating an entire radish. He froze as she entered, looking up at her with an open mouth, holding the root a few inches away from his mouth. She, too, froze, more a matter of trying to process what, exactly, she was looking at than being startled. It took her a few moments to speak up. "The longer this goes on, the more bizarre ye seem."

Yukifusa responded only by inching the radish closer to his mouth, which a frustrated and bewildered Kaede swatted out of his hand. "That... Was perfectly good daikon."

"Nevermind ye radishes! Ye lord has come seeking ye and _he is in my home._ Clothe yeself and come to him!"

Those words seemed to light a fire under Yukifusa as he scrambled to make himself decent, and was inside with a newly awakened Rin and his ever-intimidating lord, before whom he bowed. "Lord Sesshomaru."

"Yukifusa. Your role as Rin's guard is now permanent. You have proven your competence. _Do not_ prove me wrong."

"I won't disappoint, my lord. I'm honored to be assigned something so important."

"As you should be," Jaken huffed. "Lord Sesshomaru briefly considered replacing you with your sister, but decided against it. I trust there won't be another Kanazawa Incident?"

"The Kanazawa Incident was a one-time thing, Jaken."

"Because you were barred from the city!" the imp retorted.

"Yeah, bit of a harsh response. It was just a pig."

"It was three pigs! And the farmer's daughter! Not to mention that chicken!"

"I'd forgotten about the chicken. The whole bird, just... Gone," Yukifusa said, beginning to get a far-off look in his eyes. "Just like that..."

"Yes, and I trust nothing like it will ever... Lord Sesshomaru? Lord Sesshomaru, wait for me!" Jaken shouted, chasing after Sesshomaru, who had left almost immediately when Yukifusa accepted his assignment, leaving only Yukifusa, who seemed to be daydreaming, and a thoroughly mystified pair or priestesses, who were left wondering what Yukifusa could have possibly done in Kanazawa.

 **MUQFF**

After giving Yukifusa his new orders, Sesshomaru went to find Shippo. He had words for the boy, who he caught practicing with Nenshoga once more. "Fox child. You will do Rin no harm."

Shippo froze in place and managed to say "yes" without soiling himself.

"And you will learn to swing your blade properly. Your preparatory motions give everything away and you do not fully commit to your strikes. You will fix this. You will become worthy to travel with Rin," Sesshomaru said, calm as ever, before proceeding to walk off with no further words or explanation, leaving Shippo confused. Sesshomaru visited Rin often but rarely spoke with anyone else, let alone offered advice. He wondered if there might not be something wrong with the mighty demon, but dared not tug on the thread. He valued his life too much. Still, he took the advice to heart, and found that his blade felt much better in motion afterwards.

He continued to practice his swings for some time before heading back in for a morning meal, which he ate with Rin, Yukifusa, and those he'd traveled with in pursuit of the Shikon Jewel. Afterwards, he went with Inu-Yasha and the villagers to work the fields, aiding them with his fox magic and making a joint endeavor of protecting them from potential threats with the half-demon, while Rin, Kagome and Kaede went to gather herbs, now with Yukifusa's watchful eye helping Rin, and the others by extension, to stay safe. The fox demon made it a point to learn what he could while he was there, and was already settling into planning his routine around Rin's. He wondered why Sesshomaru would assign Rin extra protection, but decided not to pursue the line of questioning to avoid worrying overmuch, now that he finally had an excuse to be away from the castle and out in the world where he felt he would be doing better things. He quite liked this peaceful new life. But alas, peace was not meant to last.


	8. A Ronin Wanders

Some three weeks after Rin and Shippo had returned to the village of Edo with a new friend, it seemed everything had settled down. The most eventful thing that had happened since was a minor demon attack, repelled with ease by the many skilled warriors among the populace, with hardly a scratch on anyone. Sango and Miroku in particular had almost made a contest of it, comparing their kill counts and playfully arguing over whose counted for more, while Inu-Yasha scoffed and claimed he _clearly_ had contributed more than the two of them together. Indeed, life was good, and Yukifusa found himself settling rapidly into village life, where the children in particular took a liking to him, finding his magic tricks and thoroughly bizarre sense of humor to be entertaining and pleasant. He found himself particularly good at hide-and-seek, although some of the children would protest that being able to turn invisible or pretend to be a pot might be cheating.

Kagome was relieved at it all. She'd expected Sesshomaru's servant to, at best, be a belligerent, whiny and self-important annoyance like Jaken, or, at worst, just as cold and ruthless as the demon lord himself. Instead, she'd found him a polite, helpful person, and was hoping he was the rule among her brother in-law's vassals and not the exception. Sesshomaru had declined to attend the wedding, but he most definitely acknowledged their familial bond in his own way, allowing her to call him "big brother" and shutting up the ever-insulting Jaken as needed. Inu-Yasha, meanwhile, was a little suspicious of the newcomer, if only because he was sent by Sesshomaru. Sango and Miroku were simply grateful to have another capable fighter around.

Shippo, practicing daily, had grown swifter and stronger with his sword, and had begun to have sparring sessions every other day (Inu-Yasha had initially suggested daily before being sat into the ground by Kagome, who had proceeded to go on a rant about needing rest days for effective learning and physical conditioning, likely something she'd learned at school in her three-year absence), making a point of never sticking to one partner for more than a couple of sessions in a row. While the basics of combat were more or less the same, almost every full-time warrior developed their own style, on some level, and so learning adaptability was key, or so Sango told him. The techniques that worked against her might be one's undoing against Inu-Yasha, while fighting an enemy with superior range was a beast all on its own. And so he learned, losing more often than not against his far more experienced friends. Clever as he was, he simply didn't have the hours put into the art of war that the others did, and thus was stuck playing catch-up, although he did manage several surprising wins, impressing even seasoned, born and bred warriors like Sango.

While he was practicing the eight basic cuts, he noticed a figure wandering up the footpath toward the village. The first thing he thought to do was tell Kagome and Sango, who came rushing with him to greet the mystery person. As they arrived at the outskirts, the figure started to come into clear view, a hulking individual standing head and shoulders above most of them. Kagome guessed somewhere around two meters tall. This height was large but not uncommon in her time, and positively massive by the standards of the feudal era. Slung across broad shoulders, this person carried a kanabo nearly as tall as themselves, a strong frame for what was clearly a strong person. But Kagome had noticed something- this strong person was limping, badly. She rushed forward amid protests from her more cautious demon-slayer friend, and offered her shoulder for support, which this new person accepted, making the walk in a little easier. "Sango," Kagome said, "take Kilala and go find Rin and Kaede. This person is hurt, they need help!"

Sango did not need to be told twice, seeing the mess of dry, clotted blood that ran down from a massive rip in the bottom half of the kimono, somewhere along the left thigh, down past the hem of the kimono just below the knee, and onto the ankle and foot. With the help of her flying cat, she was back in mere minutes, and helped the priestesses transport their new patient, who was rapidly losing consciousness, into Kaede's hut for treatment. When they cut away the cloth around the leg, the wound seemed worse than it had initially appeared, and deeper. A bit of muscle was gone, and Kaede remarked that their charge had been lucky to survive at all. After liberal application of healing salves, poultices and Kagome's homemade disinfectants, it looked a great deal better, though still not good. On waking some hours later, the first thing the patient tried to do was, of course, standing up. Kagome and Rin panicked, telling the injured hulk to stay down so the leg could heal. The second thing the patient tried to do was ask a question, in a husky, raspy voice. "Where... Am I?"

The priestesses sighed in relief. "Ye be in Edo," Kaede answered. "What happened to ye?"

"I got bit. Nasty little lizard took me by surprise. Bashed his head in good, though. Thanks for the help."

"Don't mention it," Rin said. "Just rest. I'm glad to help. But you need to stay down."

"Eh, I'll eventually pay you three back for the help. Should've been paying more attention. Wonder what made a cowardly little demon like that attack someone it must've known could fight back, though..."

Kagome shushed them. "You need rest. Just lay down and sleep," she said, to little avail.

"Your... Names. Names. What are they?"

The priestesses answered in turn, and Kagome asked, "What about yours?"

"Name is... My name is Haruno Hana."

Everyone paused for a moment before Rin, ever honest and open, spoke up. "That's a girl's name."

"And I'm a girl," Haruno answered, looking at her with tired eyes. "... Did you assume I was a man?"

"... Maybe."

"It's fine if you did. I'm a woman, but not very womanly. Happens all the time, since I'm constantly new in villages and towns. Welcome to the ronin life, I guess."

"A wandering samurai?" Kagome inquired.

"Yeah, just like my mother told me my old man was. He died when I was real little, so all he really left me was my name and his war club. I left home after mother passed on. Nothing much in a little village for a girl with no family and no marriage prospects. I like it better on the road anyway. You'll never have a man tell you to make him lunch if he's seen you put someone through a wall, let me tell you!" she said with a raspy laugh. Kagome sighed.

"I can agree with that. Let's get you some water. You sound dehydrated..."

 **MUQFF**

Later that evening, Sango came to check on Haruno at Rin's request, bringing Hiraikotsu with her. On sighting the kanabo propped up in the corner, she asked to inspect it, and Haruno agreed. On picking it up, Sango had only one thing to say.

"These studs aren't made of metal or wood," she said. "This is all demon bone wrapped in a steel sheath. Where did you get this?"

"My father left it for me. Are you serious? Is my club made of demon bones?"

"Definitely," Sango said with a nod. "I can see you clean it, but you still need to take better care. A little oil goes a long way in keeping rust off. Weapons like this are rare outside of my tribe of demon-slayers, and it's all the more important if it was left to you by a parent."

"I had no idea..."

"You had nobody to teach you. The village blacksmith might be able to sell you some. I'm glad you're willing to take care of your weapon. Look after it and it looks after you."

"Thanks for being willing to help. It's been a long time since I saw another warrior woman who wasn't a priestesses."

"I can't really say the same- plenty of female demons out there have given me a hard time. But it isn't exactly common with humans. I made a lot of the villagers uncomfortable at first, but people get used to it- especially here. Edo is a place where anyone can live in peace no matter what they are, as long as they fall under the umbrella of 'good person.' It's a nice thing to have."

"It sounds like it.. I think-"

Here, Haruno was cut off by the sound of a crash outside. Using her club as a crutch, she stood and rushed outside as fast as her injuries would allow, to see a massive snake demon headed right for her, leaving a trail of torn-up houses and injured villagers in its wake. It was fast, and she only dodged it by the skin of her teeth, dropping her kanabo in the process. When it circled back around, the snake was met with Hiraikotsu, turning it away but failing to deliver the killing blow. Rather than turn its attention to Sango, it continued to dive for Haruno, who barely kept out of the way with her injuries and enormous frame, each strike digging up a divot out of the earth, while the village's more capable warriors all emerged from their homes. Even as they concentrated their strikes on the snake, creating wound after wound, its attention remained on Haruno, who just barely dodged again and again, each time rolling a little closer to the weapon she'd dropped, until she could reach it. Straining to heft the immense weapon in one hand, she brought it down on the snake the next time it came for her. Lucky for the lady ronin, the strike was successful. Her heavy war club crushed the snake demon's skull, splattering her with an unpleasant mixture of gray matter and bone fragments, but better than becoming a red stain on the ground, by any sensible guess. Haruno rose to her feet, leaning on her weapon. While Kagome, Kaede and Rin rushed to help her, Sango and Inu-Yasha examined the demon.

"This thing shouldda been dead a few times over," the half-demon said. "This is a lot for even a demon to take and still fight, but it didn't stop until ya bashed its brains in."

"It was definitely tough," Sango said. "But this happens sometimes with all kinds of things. Humans, demons and even animals. You hit a foe with something it has no chance of surviving and it keeps coming. I've had demons still coming after me even after being gutted or beheaded."

"Yeah, that's survival instinct for you," Haruno said, visibly in pain but fighting through it to stand. "I've had people try and fight me with three and four arrows in them. I even knew one guy who didn't even realize he'd been shot in the neck until someone pointed it out. He died an hour later. A whole hour. Living things kind of want to stay that way."

As if to make their point for them, the snake's tail twitched. "I suppose we can chalk it up to that," said Miroku. "I wish we had a more convenient way to clean this up. Downside of curing the wind tunnel curse, I suppose."

"Forget cleanup, we've got injured people. That comes first," one of the younger villagers pointed out.

"You're right," Rin said. "We have to get everyone treated and under a roof right away."

Haruno leaned a little more. "I can help."

"You," Kagome corrected, "can go lie down with the rest of the wounded!"

"I'll be fine. I've lived through worse."

"Go lie down!" Kagome shouted.

"Just listen to her, kid," Inu-Yasha said with a snort. "You will _never_ out-stubborn her. Don't learn it the hard way."

Haruno opened her mouth to protest, but was dissuaded by the fervent head-shaking of Shippo, Rin and Miroku. Convinced that some battles weren't worth fighting, she limped (entirely under her own power, at her insistence) to the small hut where the other wounded were already being tended to, wondering why the snake had been so persistent in targeting her.

 **MUQFF**

The next day, Haruno found herself surprised at how quickly people were rebuilding. Huts weren't terribly complex structures, but plenty of people were injured. She was mentally kicking herself for not being able to help, no matter how much anyone told her it was fine. During the morning meal, Sango came to check on her again. "I'm glad to see you're recovering so quickly. About last night..."

"I'm sorry. If I'd take care of it quicker there'd be a lot less mess right now..."

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault a demon came. That said, it seemed pretty fixed on you. Even the least intelligent demons usually turn their attention to the greatest threat first. Did you recently pick up anything that might be carrying a lot of spiritual or demonic power? Anything unusual at all?"

"The only thing I can think of is this," Haruno said, reaching into her kimono to retrieve a small piece of cloth. She unfolded it, and inside was a piece of metal, what appeared to be part of a sword blade. "I don't usually do things like this, but I picked this up off an old battlefield. There was an odd feeling of... Of peace, practically flowing out of it. I thought it might be good luck. Guess I'm pretty lucky to be alive, after the last couple of days."

Sango took the blade and examined it. "There doesn't seem to be anything unusual about it," she said. "It looks like any other piece of an old sword. Although... Rin was telling me when she came home about coming across a fragment of a legendary sword used to put restless souls at peace. Maybe I should talk to her about it."

 **MUQFF**

Later that day, while playing shogi with a confused, frustrated Haruno, Shippo found Rin leaning over him with a full kit. "We need to go."

"What are you talking about, Rin?" he asked. "We don't have anywhere to go."

"Sango told me Haruno had a piece of an old sword that seemed to radiate peace. Is picking it up the only thing that's changed recently?"

"Well... Yeah," Haruno answered. "What, do you think that snake was attacking me for _that?_ It's practically junk."

"Could I get a look at it?" Rin asked.

"I mean... I don't see why not," the enormous woman said as she removed it from her clothes once again. Rin took it, and as soon as she began focusing her spiritual energy on it, Shippo looked as though he was about to be violently ill. She stopped as soon as she was sure.

"This is a piece of that sword Shigehiro was talking about! Maybe the demon _was_ attacking you for it! He said he had a piece, too. We need to go check on him! He could be in danger."

"Look, maybe we should talk to-"

"Nobody else can!"

"What? We have four perfectly capable people."

"Miroku and Sango can't! They have the children to look after!"

"What about-?"

Kagome chose this highly opportune moment to approach. "Inu-Yasha and I can't, either. I wasn't going to tell anyone yet, but..."

Shippo took but a moment before the realization came over him. Haruno was but a moment behind him. "Oh," the fox said. "I... I'm so happy for you! But...That means..."

"You're going to have to be the ones to do this," Kagome said, finishing the thought. "We'd come if we could, but there's too much here right now. And besides, Inu-Yasha is... He's right. You're old enough to look after yourself. I don't like it, but you're not a little kid anymore. Besides, it's only a short journey, and _someone_ has to make it. Just to be safe. Just promise me you'll be careful."

"I will," he said. "As long as you promise to still be here safe and sound when I come back."

"We all will."

"Well," Haruno said, shakily standing up, "let's move! We're wasting daylight! I'm going to get to the bottom of whatever's going on here if it kills me!"

Kagome began to protest, but stopped herself when she saw the look in the lady samurai's eyes. That was the same look she'd seen on every one of her companions when they'd continued on in spite of horrifying injuries during her journey. She knew better than to try to talk to someone while they were feeling this way. So instead, she simply let the younger woman hobble over to her limited gear. She mused that the girl was right around Rin and Shippo's age- the age she herself had been when she started her own quest, and rather young to be a ronin or samurai, but she supposed not many options were left to a woman whose father had left her only a name and a weapon just right for her to use. That, and people were forced to grow up early in the feudal era, far more often than Kagome cared to think about.

It took Shippo, Rin, and, by extension, Yukifusa, less than an hour to gather their things. As they were leaving, they found Haruno waiting for them, leaning on her kanabo quite heavily to support her weight and the burden of her equipment. "You didn't really think you could leave me behind even with my leg the way it is, did you?"

"I didn't figure," Yukifusa said.

"Are you sure about this?" Rin asked, concern filling her voice.

"Yeah," Haruno said. "I was eventually gonna leave anyway. I wander- it's what ronin do. May as well do it in good company for a while. My leg isn't as bad as it was just a day ago. I'll be fine in a week or two. And I owe you for helping fix me up."

Shippo could only smile. "Let's get moving, then. We've got an old man to check on, but I'm not too worried. I doubt this is more than coincidence."

Yukifusa could only grumble about hoping, praying, that Shippo was right. If he knew anything of his fellow fox and his charge, then it was that, if something really was wrong, they'd feel compelled to help- which could only be bad news for his ability to do his job. And if he knew his luck...

 **MUQFF**

 _ **A/N: Hey again, people! I just wanted to give a great big thank you for your readership and try to shame you about reviews again. I also wanted to draw attention to the poll I've posted on my profile page out of curiosity, and say that I hope you're enjoying what I'm typing out for you. Remember, children, Sporky does it for you!**_


	9. Adventure Calls

_**A/N: Sorry it's been so long. Moving house sucked a lot of the energy out of me, creative and otherwise, and adjusting to the new routine left me with little time to sit down and type anything out. The creative mood has, thankfully, returned to me. Without further ado, I present the next chapter.**_

 **MUQFF**

Some several days' journey later, hampered by Haruno's injured leg but still making good time all things considered, the quartet of hopeful young men and women began nearing Shigehiro's village, praying they'd find everything in place as they had left it, everyone safe and happy. Rin and Shippo were more hopeful than world-weary Haruno or pessimistic Yukifusa, but even the latter two held out a little hope. Those hopes were dashed when the foxes' noses began twitching. Both announced they could smell smoke and burned flesh. At that sign, the whole group entered a dead sprint, hoping they might be in time to save someone, anyone.

When they arrived, they found not a single hut still standing, nor, strangely, any bodies, or at least none in one piece. A few horribly mangled bodies, torn apart such that one could see bones and organs, and couldn't place just which arm belonged to which torso, had been left, but nowhere near enough to account for the full population. Rin and Shippo felt sick to their stomachs, the former covering her mouth and doubling over, resisting the urge to vomit on the fresh carcasses, while Haruno only crinkled her nose and looked over the scene with disgust at the senseless slaughter and Yukifusa merely sighed. "We came too late," he stated bluntly, hardly distressed but still sounding saddened. "What a shame. These were good people. Someone should find whoever's responsible and deal with them. Slowly."

"How are you so... Used to this?" Shippo asked, half astonished and half offended. "These are people."

"They _were_ people, friend. Were. Past tense. Now they're just lumps of flesh," he responded, crouching down to pick up a severed arm and wave it around in a broad gesture at the situation. "Don't think I'm not upset. Believe me, I'm angry more than anything. As I said, we must find the person responsible. But we have to keep our heads, or we'll end up losing them more literally," the noble fox went on, tapping the side of his own skull with someone else's finger.

"He's right," Haruno said glumly, putting a massive hand on Shippo's shoulder. "Right now, we need to see if we can find anyone who we can save- or at least get some information from. That doesn't make playing with dead bodies helpful, though. Would you put that down? It's disgusting. We should be burying their dead, not using their bits to make a point."

"Well, really, we should be ignoring them entirely. I smell a live one. Nothing to be done for the dead, but we can help the living. This way," Yukifusa said, dropping the arm, leading the way and waving at the others to follow at a light jog- the fastest they could manage without tripping over anything and making casualties of themselves.

When they arrived, they found old Shigehiro, legs pinned beneath the fallen rubble of his shrine, barely conscious. Rin crouched next to him, barely holding back crying for all the fallen and for the old priest's situation. "Shigehiro? Are you awake?"

"Barely... Is that you, girl? The one from Edo?"

"It's me," she said. "Haruno, can you lift that beam?"

Haruno answered not with words, but by placing one strong shoulder under it and pushing herself and the rubble up with her legs. Fortunately, it shifted enough rubble for the foxes to gently drag the old man out onto clear ground, where Rin assessed his injuries, to the sound of his protests. "It's no use, girl. I'm not long for this world now. I can feel it. My legs are broken and my life force is leaving me. You can do nothing for me except ease my passing by listening."

Yukifusa crouched next to Shigehiro taking the old man's hand. "Talk to us, old man. Tell us who did this. It won't go unchecked, I assure you."

"Avenging this is now the least of your concerns, young fox. All of _Yamato(1)_ is at stake. Tsutabi has returned! He did this and he will do it elsewhere! I can feel it. You have a shard of Shiroyasuha with you. Protect it with your lives and gather the others at any cost. Tsutabi seeks to destroy it- it's the only thing that can destroy him. If he succeeds, it's over. Not just here- the world!" Shigehiro reached up and grabbed Rin's collar, pulling her closer. "You must gather all the fragments before he does. Lucky for all of us, nobody, Tsutabi included, knows just how many shards there are, so he'll want to assemble the whole thing before he destroys it, just to be certain he got every piece. You can reclaim what's already been taken," he went on. "If you don't, if you fail, his undead army... will... it will..." The old man stopped here, coughing, and breathed his last gasp, dying right before them.

"Damn," Haruno lamented. "This is massive. I... I don't know what to do with all this."

"We act on it," Rin declared, determined. "The whole world is at stake. I'd feel like a coward if I didn't do anything about it. I wouldn't be able to look Lord Sesshomaru in the eye. Not Kagome, either."

"Neither could I," Shippo said. "And I can't leave the fighting to the grownups anymore- I am one now, and they all have families. I'm not gonna ask them to uproot it all when I can take care of things. It's our turn to save the world, I guess. If Sesshomaru and my friends could stand up to Naraku, we can handle this Tsutabi."

"No world, no me and no money," Haruno said simply. "I'm in."

"Is that really your motive?" Yukifusa asked in a teasing tone.

"Believe what you want," she responded. "Whatever lets you sleep at night."

"Well," Yukifusa said with a sigh, "I think you're all positively insane. I'd say I don't like it, I'd complain about how much harder this makes my job as your bodyguard, but there's no dissuading you, Lady Rin. I can't stop you, so I'll follow you and protect you however I can. Anything less and Lord Sesshomaru would strangle me, and that's if nothing else made him angry that day."

"Is that really your motivation?" Haruno teased, echoing his earlier question, eliciting a nervous laugh from the whole group.

"Oh, shut up, you," he snarled. "Now isn't really the time for jokes, standing here surrounded by bodies. A man just died right in front of us, you know."

The rest of the group looked down, having no motivation to call him out on his own earlier relatively flippant treatment of the situation, for even though the pot was calling the kettle black, the pot was still right. "We should really take care of the bodies," Haruno said after a long silence. "It wouldn't be right to just leave them here."

And so the four of them got to solemn work digging graves and dragging bodies, even the foxes silent, with no witty remarks to be had. The work took up most of the remaining daylight, largely due to Rin's insistence on piecing the bodies together and placing clear grave markers. Making camp, too, took extra time, because of the collective decision to make camp as far from the remains of the village as they could. Haruno stuck closest to the fire, her massive frame hunched over it, poking the bottom with a stick and occasionally bending to blow into it, to keep the air flowing to the tinder and kindling until the proper fuel lit up and they could let it burn while they cooked food on it. Rin portioned out the rice in silence, while Shippo gutted and cleaned a few fish he'd caught and Yukifusa carefully sharpened his sword, each of them contemplating the gravity of their new situation now that the shock had worn off. Massacres weren't a terribly uncommon sight to Haruno's eyes, and Yukifusa was skilled at detaching himself from such situations, but Rin and Shippo were more disturbed. Battles they were used to, but not like this. Once the fire was going properly, Rin crouched next to Haruno and, without looking at her, asked a simple question. "Do you ever get used to this?"

Haruno shook her head. "No. It gets a little easier every time, but you can't let it get _too_ easy, and you especially can't let yourself really get used to it. Otherwise, you start losing your humanity."

Rin just nodded in silence. It both was and was not a comforting answer. She had a feeling she'd be seeing more of this whether she liked it or not, and knew she'd never be comfortable with it, but she was _glad_ she'd never be comfortable with it. She didn't want to become a cold person, in spite of what her name said. She knew she'd find more scenes like this if she undertook the quest Shigehiro had left her, but she had no choice. Adventure and duty had called, and she had to answer, for everyone's sake. _Lord Sesshomaru, please understand. Please don't be angry. Be proud of me instead. I need to do this for everyone.  
_

* * *

 _(1) Yamato- an ancient name for Japan, probably what folks would have been calling it around this time. Not to be confused with the seaborne hotel of the same name, nor with Marshal Admiral Yamamoto, the commander in chief of the navy she was part of._


	10. Adventure Answered

The next morning, Rin was awake before anyone else- mostly because she'd taken last watch. She looked over her friends, and, comfortingly, found that Shippo was still curled up on his side, Haruno was still sprawled out across her sleeping mat (and then quite a bit of the open ground as well), and Yukifusa was still peacefully drooling on his own arms. In the morning, even summer air could have a bit of a nip to it, but she didn't find it so uncomfortable, really. She resolved to take last watch more often as she looked out at the rising sun in the east, casting its soft light on the trees and all that dwelt within them, illuminating the world around her in a pleasant shade of green as it woke the birds, the first creatures to get up most mornings, their lively chirping announcing the new day to the world. Rin had always loved such summer mornings, and taking the scene in was a fine respite from lingering thoughts about the day before. She thought she might wait a while to wake her friends, leave them at peace and have this to herself. Time wouldn't wait for them, but it seemed to her that they could afford to lose an hour or so for this. Kaede had always been very insistent with her on an appreciation for the natural world in all its beauty, and this was one of the many moments in which she truly understood why. Today was already promising.

In an hour or so, Yukifusa extricated himself from his bedroll, taking a moment to straighten out his clothes and stretch from head to toe, limbering up for a day's travel, before fishing out the food and tools for breakfast, the noise of which soon woke Haruno, whose first act of the day was to change her bandages and check to ensure she wasn't developing an infection. She nodded in approval when she found that, in spite of recent activity, it was coming along at a good pace, and wrapped a clean new compress and poultice around it. Shippo, however, was still asleep.

Yukifusa smirked down at the other fox. "How should we wake him? Bucket of cold water? Wasabi up the nose?"

"That's cruel!" Rin exclaimed. "He'll get up when he smells the food!"

"Fine, fine. Maybe you're right."

"She _is_ right, you crazy fox," Haruno grumbled. "Something must be wrong with you."

"Nose wasabi is a pretty common prank. Not like it does any lasting harm."

"This isn't up for debate!" Rin interjected, exasperated. "Nobody is putting wasabi anywhere!"

Yukifusa just smiled and shook his head. "Whatever you say. I'll let everyone know when breakfast is ready. You two ladies just sit and relax for a while, before you stress yourselves to death. The road ahead is long, hard and probably disgusting. Take rest and relaxation while it's available, or you'll regret it like one regrets the sake when they wake up in a city they've never seen before."

"You'd better not be speaking from personal experience," Haruno said. Yukifusa's only response was a raised eyebrow, as if to say she should know better.

As Yukifusa began cooking breakfast, Shippo's nose began to twitch. Rin had been right- the smell of food was waking him, albeit slowly. The young fox stirred, blinking a few times to make sure he was really awake before slowly sitting up. "Am I last?"

"Last but not late," the other fox answered. "Be glad Rin was here, or I'd have woken you up the nasty way."

"Nose wasabi?" Shippo inquired. Everyone nodded. "Classic. I'd have gotten you back, though."

"No. No tricks," Rin said, cutting off the budding prank war. "We can't afford it." Haruno followed this up by grumbling her agreement as Yukifusa put the finishing touches on the morning meal, consisting of pickled plums, rice, and fish, fried to golden-brown melt-in-your-mouth perfection and seasoned with salt and but the lightest hint of wasabi. The others found the spicy stuff a bit of an odd touch, but enjoyed it no less. While the others enjoyed his cooking, the fox lamented the lack of ingredients for miso soup or natto, while Rin was simply glad she hadn't had the cooking left to her today, and Haruno found herself surprised with the food's quality, having never expected that Yukifusa, the moron in fine silk clothes, would be capable of cooking at all.

Yukifusa sat between Rin and Haruno, smugly satisfied with himself and his cooking. "What's the matter, didn't you think I was capable of making food, Botan _(1)_?"

"Flattering, and no, I really didn't. Since when can pampered rich boys cook?"

"Since about the time we became expected to actually do something. Which, under Lord Sesshomaru, has been from the beginning. I'm told his father was the same. What good am I to him if I'm so helpless I can't even make my own food? We don't work like you. Among demons, status is _earned_ , through strength, integrity and wits. Although I won't lie, it's much easier to build and maintain those when your father already has some status."

Haruno scoffed. "Integrity?"

"It's important to follow through on promises and threats when everyone's memory is centuries long. Especially threats. Fail to carry out your threats, and you're seen as lacking the power to back up your words. Break your oaths, and, at best, nobody wants to deal with you for fear of being backstabbed. And your kids carry that stain, too. Believe it or not, demons care for our offspring and bloodline just as much as humans do."

"Fair, fair," Haruno said, holding up her hands in mock surrender. "And you know what? Thanks. You do a lot of dumb things, but your cooking? Not dumb. This is actually really good."

"Well, I'm glad you like it. The touch of wasabi was actually my sister's idea. She... Overdid it the first time. To say the least." Everyone collectively shuddered at that. "Ah, but it was good for a laugh when we got our father to eat some, so it didn't end up going completely to waste, thankfully. Never liked wasted food. Regular folks out there starving and Lord Hakuchi _(2)_ is throwing away perfectly good venison because there's a bit of black on the edges."

Rin blinked in astonishment. Not so long ago, he'd lamented how few people knew how to read, in ignorance of the common person's complete lack of time or motivation to learn such a thing, and now here he was, bitter over the idea that, somewhere out there, someone was wasting perfectly good food that someone less fortunate would be thrilled to have.

"What? I might not know a lot about the average way of life, but it's not like I'm totally ignorant of the fact that people out there don't have enough to eat. I always hated leaders who don't look after their people, and it goes double for the ones enjoying total luxury while everyone else suffers. Lord Sesshomaru looks after his followers. Rin can attest to it, as far as Jaken's told me. I wish more people were like him."

Rin merely blinked again, confused by the bizarre mix of the relatively deep understanding he was now displaying and the utter ignorance he'd shown on their first journey. After a few moments, she simply shook the thought from her head, chalking it up to her bodyguard and friend's oddball nature.

 **MUQFF**

Not long after waking, the small party was on the move, looking for the nearest village or town in search of clues. Yukifusa and Haruno, both experienced information gatherers, albeit for different reasons, figured that the best place to start would be asking after rumors of sword fragments or similar artifacts at inns and other places frequented by travelers. But first, there was the matter of finding a village or town. Yukifusa suggested simply following a path- after all, roads to nowhere ought not exist and thus all roads must be connected somewhere along the way, meaning that one would eventually find people. Haruno suggested that following a river might be more expedient, given the human tendency to settle near water, and the group agreed, especially after Rin noted the added bonus of a reliable water and food source. Packs securely fastened, they followed the waterway downstream, with Rin and Shippo in front, while Yukifusa and Haruno trailed not far behind- a demon conveniently on either end of the party to make the fullest use of their superior senses in case of danger. Shippo and Rin quickly fell into idle conversation.

"When do you think we should go back to Edo?" he asked. "We can't let them worry too much."

"After we get a bearing on a piece of that sword. The only shard we have right now is in Haruno's kimono, and I don't like the odds with just one. But you're right... We should go back as soon as we can after this."

"Then let's make it as quick as we can. I don't like leaving Kagome in the dark- she gets all mad."

"I hope Lord Sesshomaru doesn't worry too much... You know how he gets."

"Yeah, firsthand..." Shippo said with a shudder. "I don't know what he thinks we get up to."

"He just cares. He'll learn to like you, since you're my friend. … I mean, eventually. He takes time to warm up, that's all."

"I'm not sure 'warm up' is in his vocabulary," Shippo scoffed. Rin rolled her eyes.

"Yes it is," she retorted. "That's how I started traveling with him, after all. It just takes time. It might help if you could impress him, though. Or at least show him you're not going to hurt me. I don't know why he's acting like this all of a sudden. He never had a problem when we were kids."

Shippo sighed. The truth was that he was pretty sure he knew just what wild misconception was going through the great dog demon's mind, and was silently praising Rin's ignorance of certain parts of human culture thanks to her unusual lifestyle and upbringing, plus natural innocence. "Maybe you're right." _I really hope she's right, or I'm as good as a scarf._

Meanwhile, the pair in the rear engaged in their own talking. "Were you really going to put wasabi up his nose if Rin didn't stop you?" Haruno inquired.

"Well, yeah," Yukifusa said casually. "Pretty standard joke. Painful, but ultimately harmless. And being a fox himself, he'd have gotten me back just as good. It's all in good fun. Don't worry about it- I'd never do anything to actually hurt someone. Unless they really, really deserved it."

Haruno found herself worried about what, exactly, might constitute a deserving person, but decided not to push that particular issue. "Do I even want to know what the revenge prank would've been?"

Yukifusa shrugged. "I'm sure it wouldn't have been anything overly nasty. Some really vindictive or sadistic foxes like lethal or near-lethal jokes, but I never saw what was so funny about them. I've played a deadly prank exactly twice, and I remember the exact reason both times."

"What reason could you possibly have?"

"I don't want to talk about it in detail, but fair warning. Not that I think you would, but never hurt a kid in front of me. Or really anywhere at all, but especially not in front of me."

Haruno tried to divert the conversation away. "Do you have any? Children, I mean."

"What? No way, I don't even have a mate or a wife. Do I look that old?"

"Don't get all offended! You could be seven hundred years old for all I know!"

"And now I'm _actuall_ yoffended."

Haruno merely scoffed and rolled her eyes, and the group carried onward.

 _(1)Botan- the Japanese word for the peony flower, used in Japanese flower language as a symbol for bravery, and, additionally, it is seen as a masculine flower, simultaneously a complement and a joking dig at her lack of femininity; left untranslated because it's a nickname._

 _(2)Hakuchi- a nasty word for an intellectually disabled person, basically equivalent to "retard." Left untranslated because it was being used simultaneously as an insult and placeholder name._


End file.
